Arsenal Left With Defensive Trouble

As if things weren't bad enough in the Arsenal camp.

A report on the Official Arsenal site tells us that the Gunners will be without the services of Ashley Cole until at least Christmas, and fellow left back Gael Clichy will be out for upto 4 months.

Ashley Cole hasn't played for the Gunners since the home fixture against Birmingham in early October.

The two player have a very similar style of play, the defensive pair have taken this a step too far by suffering the exact same injury.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Arsenal TV Online Wenger said “The story is that Gael will need surgery,”

“The injury is in the same place where he had a screw put in before.

“The quite remarkable thing, in a negative way, is that he has the same problem as Ashley Cole.

“It is terrible for the boy, we feel really bad for him. For us it is hard to take as well because we have no left backs who are really comfortable in that position.

“Ashley is five weeks away in my opinion and Gael is three to four months away. We’ll just have to be patient and wish them well.”

The only other injury in the squad is Alexander Hleb. His knee problem is likely to keep him out for a further three weeks.

“Clichy, Cole and Hleb are only the only injuries we have,” concluded Wenger, “but they are all quite heavy ones.”